1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a multi-port modular jack assembly for mounting on a printed circuit board for high speed data transmission.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is quite common to use modular jacks for the transmission of digital data, whereby some computing equipment is accessed by a plurality of devices and therefore has a plurality of modular jacks. In order to reduce the cost and space requirements, these modular jacks have been integrated in a single housing in a juxtaposed manner for mounting onto a PC board as shown in FIG. 1. Due to the high data transmission speed of many computers today, such multi-port modular jacks are also provided with shielding around the external surface of the integral housing. It is also an advantage to have a large number of modular jacks mounted to the edge of a same printed circuit board, however increasing the number of parts would lengthen the connector assembly in the prior art solution shown in FIG. 1, as the modular jacks are arranged in a single row. The connector assembly length however is limited by the external size of the computer and the length of the printed circuit board to which it is mounted. It would therefore be desirable to increase the number of ports without increasing the length of the connector. In doing so, one should ensure that the resilient latches of the modular plugs that connect with the jacks are easily accessible in order to easily release the plug from the jack. Certain data transmission standards such as 10 Base T, require connector assemblies to function reliably for very high data transmission speeds and also high voltages. High data transmission speeds e.g. 100 Mhz require effective shielding, and high voltages mean that the signal contacts should be sufficiently spaced from the grounding circuits in order to avoid flashover.